Leeds City Transport

[Cardiarms]

The pilot sits at a 'work station' and the passengers have the option of sitting in the 'lounge area'. What a load of toss.

[somme1916]

Cardiarms wrote: The pilot sits at a 'work station' and the passengers have the option of sitting in the 'lounge area'. What a load of toss. Yes,Cardi except my descriptor had FIVE (5) letters in it !     

[bus aimer]

been on your site many times ,so decided to join (all I have to do is remember my nickname etc .I really enjoyed the pics of the old back loaders of the lct ,I had many a freezing winters night driving these around Leeds in the 60s and 70s

[bus aimer]

I'm pretty sure the toilets wern't filled in just covered over ,just like the ones in city square near the old majestic

[BLAKEY]

bus aimer wrote: been on your site many times ,so decided to join (all I have to do is remember my nickname etc .I really enjoyed the pics of the old back loaders of the lct ,I had many a freezing winters night driving these around Leeds in the 60s and 70s My word bus aimer, I too remember the freezing winter nights, and scorching summer days too. Presumably you've been "down under" for quite a while and if so you'd be horrified if you had to see the shambles here now, courtesy of the infernal De-regulation Act of 1986 - profiteering privatisation by any other name !! I was at Headingley Depot most of my time at LCT and Metro so may well have crossed paths at some time.    

[Phill_dvsn]

bus aimer wrote: .I really enjoyed the pics of the old back loaders of the lct ,I had many a freezing winters night driving these around Leeds in the 60s and 70s Here's one especially for you. Welcome to the forum Perhaps, you, Blakey, or any of the other ex LCT drivers can answer a few questions I've always wondered about.I know the old half cabs had no heat on the bus for passengers, but wasn't there any kind of heat in the cab for a driver, any kind of radiator, warm air blower or anything? It must have been freezing if not Also, was there a master key, or special attachment you needed to start the old buses?I know on the railways it was a master key, pretty similar to a large Allen key. You could only start an engine with one in place. Those keys were pretty universal on B.R though, they opened cab doors, and all the carriages too.. My mates uncle was a driver at Holbeck, we went down with him one Saturday afternoon, he showed us the process of firing locos up in detail. How to wait for the vacuum to rise to get the brakes off, switch on the AWS, and how to drive them.We had all the engines we liked up and running. We even drove one of the Class 08 shunters up and down the sidings for an hour. He gave us a starting key as a souvenir as long as we promised to never to go starting locos up and driving them off lol Health & Safety in those days was non existent, and it was great. Here's a nice half cab video, the Routemaster perpetual motion.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLzrU7uFtxIThere is a good shot of the Routemaster engine start lever, and what looks like a starting key at the beginning.            

[BLAKEY]

Phill_dvsn wrote: Perhaps, you, Blakey, or any of the other ex LCT drivers can answer a few questions I've always wondered about.I know the old half cabs had no heat on the bus for passengers, but wasn't there any kind of heat in the cab for a driver, any kind of radiator, warm air blower or anything? It must have been freezing if not Also, was their a master key, or special attachment you needed to start the old buses? Hi Phill - actually from the mid to late 1950s LCT backloaders did have saloon heaters, mainly I have to say of very poor design and performance indeed. Leeds were very late indeed in introducing heaters - in fact they were commonplace with many operators even before WW2. The most famous and effective originally were the Clayton Dewandre circular ones with powerful fan at the front of each saloon, below window level. After the War the vehicle accessory firm of "KL" produced superb square box heaters mounted below the seats. It was the practice for Samuel Ledgard when aquiring second hand vehicles to fit three of these, two in the lower saloon and one at the front of the top deck. They ran directly off hot water diverted from the engines and were really good with powerful but sometimes noisy fans - especially on buses with the hot running Daimler engine. People may think I'm kidding, but I'm not - we had two Daimlers (formerly Exeter Corporation) at Otley depot on which it was not unknown for the passengers to ask for them to be "turned down" or switched off in the worst of Winter. The Firm also fitted the same heaters to most of their own buses bought new.There was no "thief proof" device fitted to the old front engined buses - simply a readily accessible (for obvious safety reasons) battery master switch and a further "start" switch to bring the starter button into play.Also cab heaters were as rare as the proverbial "hens' teeth." The ex London Transport "RT"s as driven by Cliff Richard in the film did have cab heaters - we had 39 of them at Ledgard's who fitted the above mentioned "KL" heaters in the saloons.The London Routemaster was indeed a legend, and an incredible legend at that !! Not only did last for around forty years, but were incredibly light, being "chassisless" or integrally constructed. Most of the mechanicals were carried on two easily removed subframes.The LCT bus shown is one of a large batch of seventy one - strange number, but 221 was the Commercial Motor Show model, followed by the main batch of seventy. Their "heating" systems were sadly a sick joke - a feeble motor persuaded a feeble current of only just perceptible warm air to drift into the front of each saloon. The same pathetic output was to be found in the similar buses on Daimler and AEC chassis.Amusing footnote - you can't help but admire the brave optimism of the successful Clayton Dewandre company, whose factory in Lincoln was called "Titanic Works."     

[Phill_dvsn]

Many thanks for the info Blakey, as interesting and insightful as ever. Your a true gent and legend bus driver. Thanks

[majorhoundii]

BLAKEY wrote: Phill_dvsn wrote: Perhaps, you, Blakey, or any of the other ex LCT drivers can answer a few questions I've always wondered about.I know the old half cabs had no heat on the bus for passengers, but wasn't there any kind of heat in the cab for a driver, any kind of radiator, warm air blower or anything? It must have been freezing if not Also, was their a master key, or special attachment you needed to start the old buses? Hi Phill - actually from the mid to late 1950s LCT backloaders did have saloon heaters, mainly I have to say of very poor design and performance indeed. Leeds were very late indeed in introducing heaters - in fact they were commonplace with many operators even before WW2. The most famous and effective originally were the Clayton Dewandre circular ones with powerful fan at the front of each saloon, below window level. After the War the vehicle accessory firm of "KL" produced superb square box heaters mounted below the seats. It was the practice for Samuel Ledgard when aquiring second hand vehicles to fit three of these, two in the lower saloon and one at the front of the top deck. They ran directly off hot water diverted from the engines and were really good with powerful but sometimes noisy fans - especially on buses with the hot running Daimler engine. People may think I'm kidding, but I'm not - we had two Daimlers (formerly Exeter Corporation) at Otley depot on which it was not unknown for the passengers to ask for them to be "turned down" or switched off in the worst of Winter. The Firm also fitted the same heaters to most of their own buses bought new.There was no "thief proof" device fitted to the old front engined buses - simply a readily accessible (for obvious safety reasons) battery master switch and a further "start" switch to bring the starter button into play.Also cab heaters were as rare as the proverbial "hens' teeth." The ex London Transport "RT"s as driven by Cliff Richard in the film did have cab heaters - we had 39 of them at Ledgard's who fitted the above mentioned "KL" heaters in the saloons.The London Routemaster was indeed a legend, and an incredible legend at that !! Not only did last for around forty years, but were incredibly light, being "chassisless" or integrally constructed. Most of the mechanicals were carried on two easily removed subframes.The LCT bus shown is one of a large batch of seventy one - strange number, but 221 was the Commercial Motor Show model, followed by the main batch of seventy. Their "heating" systems were sadly a sick joke - a feeble motor persuaded a feeble current of only just perceptible warm air to drift into the front of each saloon. The same pathetic output was to be found in the similar buses on Daimler and AEC chassis.Amusing footnote - you can't help but admire the brave optimism of the successful Clayton Dewandre company, whose factory in Lincoln was called "Titanic Works."      When I was a kid in the fifties, the 52/53 used to have a pause at Fountain Inn stop in Morley. It was not unusual to see the coductor perched on the engine compartment chatting to the driver. Presumably he/she was up there to keep warm.I recall the first time I saw a Routemaster, it was on a TV programme - must have been after 1954 because we didn't have a TV before them - it was about the Routemaster and was called "The Bus of the Future"As for heaters, I recall the Yorkshire Woollen Leyland single deckers having a round chrome covered heater mounted on the bulkhead between the driver's cab and the passenger compartment.

[raveydavey]

A little more recently, the passenger saloon heaters on the Atlanteans were rubbish too, even the later models. Upstairs was particularly bad as I recall.On a winters morning it was a rare treat to see an Olympian turn into the street, followed by a swift climb of the stairs in the hope the seat opposite the solitary heater fan was unoccupied!Of course things have gone the opposite way now, with buses being heated to an excessive degree all year round.